


when the dawn does come

by qelos (midheaven)



Series: a song is fireworks [5]
Category: Keyakizaka46 (Band), Sakurazaka46 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Established Relationship, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:35:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27556174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midheaven/pseuds/qelos
Summary: you didn’t know what you’d expected, but certainly not this—yui’d handed it to you so quickly, so nonchalantly. butthis—minami discovers that yui gives, and gives, and gives.
Relationships: Kobayashi Yui/Koike Minami
Series: a song is fireworks [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1912633
Kudos: 20





	when the dawn does come

**Author's Note:**

> hi—yes, i knew that i said the previous one was the last, but in true gemini sun & mercury fashion, i changed my mind. this pairing is another one that i find i may be the only one who appreciates it, and as most of my fics, this happened because 1) kobayashi & koike are my favourite members (at least in 1ki), and 2) they’ve had a spurt of interactions lately. which means they did more than coexist in the same group (those blog posts, i cry).
> 
> title from the tametadake shodo hyakushu.

明けくれば  
行きかふ船に<  
うつろひて  
波の上こそ  
住処なりけれ

you’d almost forgotten. 

you glance at the corner of your screen and it reads 1:08 AM. you need to head to sleep soon, but the light glinting off the metal by the edge of your desk begs otherwise.

the flash drive is small—just the size of the nail on your thumb. you plug into your tablet and open it, and—

the files are all audio. small ones—seconds long, thirty the longest. the filenames only note dates: plenty from this year, but some from before. 

you open one. 

yui’s voice comes. the gentle crackle of static accompanying her. she sings—she sings a _love song_ , one she’s written, so quietly, as if she’s telling a secret. 

  
  


yui’s always liked giving you gifts. 

the first one you remember is simple. a small penguin plushie you’d pointed out to her on your date the previous weekend. it sits atop your desk when you arrive at school in the morning, without anything—not even a note, and surely not yui herself. 

you grab her at lunch. “always have to be the _cool & aloof _ type, don’t you?”

“i’m just shy, minami,” she replies, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

you want to retort back, but the way your name fits in her mouth makes a coil of warmth curl in your stomach. “thank you,” you say instead, kissing her on her cheek. 

she blinks at you and she’s just so _pretty._ “anytime.”

her arm jostles and she reaches for your hand. you take it in yours, and yui does that thing where she squeezes and tugs on you, just the slightest bit. 

“let’s go eat,” she tells you, “i’m starving.”

  
  
  


“hey.”

yui’s standing above you. her eyes squinting in the brightness. “noticed you haven’t been too good today.”

you look up at her. “i’m fine.”

she holds up a plastic bag, but she’s shy when she does. there’s that tilt to her head. the fiddling of her fingers. “brought you this.”

“really?” you pat the empty patch of grass beside you. urge her to sit. 

“yeah,” she replies, taking her place beside you. 

this had always been your spot in the school. a few steps from the swimming pool—shady, quiet, calm. a secret you kept so dear that you’d only shown it to yui a month ago. 

you inch closer to her. yui rolls her eyes. plants the bag in your lap. 

the realisation strikes you a bit late. “did you—” you blink and exhale. “yui, did you—did you leave, buy this at the convenience store, then come back?”

yui shrugs. 

you sift through it—paracetamol. two bags of your favourite snack. a sports drink. menthol oil.

you bite your lip, but a chuckle still escapes you. you’d been lamenting to her about being a woman and why this had to happen every month. 

she draws her knees up when you look at her. hugs them to her chest. you scratch the band of skin above her ankle. want to get closer somehow. 

“thank you,” you tell her, again. “you’re too sweet.”

all yui does is hum and tilt her head, looking at the horizon. 

  
  
  
  


the breeze from the riverside is cold. autumn breaks soon, and wants to let you know. 

the sun had set a few hours ago. you and yui walk, safe in the darkness, comforted. you move from holding onto the hem of her jacket sleeve to taking her arm and wrapping yourself around it. you feel her move, the barest of movements, to accomodate you. 

you walk for a few more minutes before—

“minami,” yui urges. “a moment?”

you stop, and the gravel under your feet crunches before it gives way to the leaves rustling and water gurgling. she steps around so she’s in front of you. reaches for something in her pocket. 

a small drawstring bag. yui opens it so its contents fall into her palm. two necklaces—identical ones. glinting under the streetlamp light. yui pockets one of them and holds the other one up for you to see. 

“we’re the only ones who’d know,” she says. “everybody else would just think—”

“no, yeah.” you laugh. it’s _genius._ “i get it.”

the pendant is small. low enough that it would be well hidden in your uniform when you wear it. a small, inconspicuous 小. the first character in your name—but also in yui’s. 

she moves toward you, behind you. you gather your hair. you feel her breaths on the top of your spine. you squeeze your eyes shut because—there’s a safety to yui being that close, but also a danger. the speed of your heart thrumming, the hollowing out of your belly. 

“there,” she says.

you feel the pendant settle onto your chest.

  
  


you’re distracted. 

you’re distracted, but you only have yourself to blame. you’d stolen yui’s cardigan in the morning. sweetly, so she would give in—and she had. 

but you’re finding it’s a bad decision, because—

the collar smells like her hair, the sleeves like her soap. when you rest your head on your palm it hits you, the same clean, warm scent that surrounds you when yui puts her hands on your face, when she strokes your cheeks. 

an ache grows. you miss her already. want to wrap your fingers around her wrist, thumb her pulse. watch her take her bento, watch her grow shy under your gaze. 

but she isn’t free for lunch, so the next time you see her is after class. 

you almost crash into her and she steps back with a soft _oof._ leans against the shoe lockers. 

“missed you,” you mumble into her shoulder. 

“it’s only been a few hours,” she exhales, soft. you feel the hum under your lips. through her skin. 

“it’s this guy’s fault.” you’d taken off her cardigan. step back and hold it out for her. “smells like you.”

yui considers for a moment, thoughtful. her round eyes downturned, her mouth steady. she adjusts her posture and you catch a glimpse of the chain peeking through her collar. 

“keep it,” she tells you.

“what?” you blink. 

she steps toward you, pushes your arms back to your body. tiptoes and kisses the top of your head. there’s that scent that’s been haunting you all day—stronger, now. realer. the ache blooms instead of receding. 

“keep it,” yui tells you, “it’s yours.”

  
  


yui was busy today, too. 

only spared you a second before class started. “happy birthday, minami,” she’d whispered into your hair. handed you a small flash drive. “i’m really sorry. we’ll have lunch this weekend, i promise.”

you’d waved her off. “‘s okay,” you say. “i understand.”

and she _smiled._ the flesh of her cheeks rising. you couldn’t help yourself, so you didn’t resist—you’d cupped the side of her face and ran your thumb across it. “i’ll see you later,” you whispered. 

she’d turned her head so she could place a kiss on your palm. “later.”

you peer through its contents sixteen hours later, tired from answering messages and a heavy dinner at home. you didn’t know what you’d expected, but certainly not this—yui’d handed it to you so quickly, so nonchalantly. but _this—_

so open, and honest, and vulnerable. yui cracks open her chest and lets you into her heart. it’s all snippets of songs—some hers, some covers. and the filenames are dates, but it’s only now you see the name of the enclosing folder—

_songs for minami_ , it reads. 

you’re calling her before you could stop yourself. 

“ _minami,_ ” her voice comes. and it’s so holy to you now, after listening to it for the past few minutes. “ _it’s so late._ ”

“ _yui,_ ” you exhale. “yui—you—these are—”

“ _oh._ ” some rustling. “ _do you like it?_ ”

“like it? i—” you scoff. there’s a fullness in your chest that tells you you’re about to cry. “the earliest one here is from three years ago.”

“ _i’ve liked you a long time_.”

you tap on the pendant through your clothes. the penguin plushie sits on your bed. the cardigan hangs behind your door. “you give me so much,” you say. 

“ _doesn’t come close to what you’ve given me._ ”

you laugh, wet. “you are so _cheesy,_ ” you say, holding the phone closer to your ear. if distance wasn’t so strong an obstacle you’d be beside her right now. 

“ _happy birthday, minami_ ,” she says again.

and it’s the two words you always seem to say around her. “thank you,” you tell her, and you hope it’s enough. 

**Author's Note:**

> (ppl who believe kobayashi yui’s love language is gift giving make some noise...)
> 
> published in time for koike’s birthday! pls greet her everybody,,
> 
> curiouscat [here](http://curiouscat.me/pisceshorizon), as always. thank you for reading and feel free to leave your thoughts ♡


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